Šibenik, Croatia (July 12, 2017) - Boiling temperatures, light winds and great aggression — these were the key elements of opening day at the 2017 Melges 20 European Championship taking place in Šibenik, Croatia.

One single race commenced under the black flag, after two general recalls. It was obvious that the fleet was nervous for the start, and with the prestigious European Championship trophy at stake, every team was feeling the heavy pressure to do well on opening day. The highly-favored, Polish-based Melges 20 team of MAG TINY with Krzysztof Krempec at the helm, and Marco Giannini on EVINRUDE were the unfortunate recipients of black flag penalties.

With great speed, taking over the fleet almost immediately was current Melges 20 World League leader Igor Rytov on RUSSIAN BOGATYRS. But it wasn’t long before fellow countryman Alexander Novoselov’s VICTOR (Stefano Cherin, tactician) demonstrated that he knew how to race in the light air conditions best. From mid-race onward, Novoselov made not one mistake, not one faulted move, ultimately overtaking the lead at the gate then holding off Rytov for the win. Rytov made it a fight to the finish against Orel Kalomeni on ARCORA from Monaco (Sebastian Col, tactician). Kalomeni edged it out to take second place, Rytov came third.

Rounding out the top five positions is yet another Russian team, 2017 Zadar Champion Alexander Ezhkov aboard PIROGOVO SAILING in fourth, followed by Italy’s Alessandro Rombelli sailing STIG/OPENJOBMETIS (Francesco Bruni, tactician) in fifth.

CORINTHIAN CLASHThe heat is on high in the all-amatuer division of the 2017 European Championship. Atop the field of four is Wilma Homann sailing FANTASTICHINA, followed by 2017 Zadar Corinthian Champion Marina Kaverzina on MARUSSIA in second.

Thursday will mark the second day of scheduled racing where different wind conditions are expected, with a warning at 13.00.

The Melges 20 World League European Division is supported by Helly Hansen, Garmin Marine, Toremar, Lavazza, and Barracuda Communication. Additional 2017 Melges 20 European Championship media communications supported by North Sails.